A former University of Oregon history and medieval studies professor was sentenced to 16 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections on Oct. 30 after pleading guilty to three felony counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse. Andrew Edmund Goble, who taught at the university for decades before retiring, will also serve 34 months of post-prison supervision once his prison term ends.
According to Daily Emerald, Judge Charles Zennaché handed down the sentence after Goble entered his plea, and the case stemmed from an investigation by the Lane County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. As part of the plea agreement, seven of the original first-degree counts against him were dropped. Court documents cited by the outlet also show Goble will be required to register as a sex offender and surrender both his passport and green card.
Sources differ on Goble's exact age: KPIC reported him as 72, while Lookout Eugene-Springfield reported him as 73 at the time of his arrest. KPIC, reporting on the story originally published by KMTR, detailed how the case began: detectives served a search warrant at a residence in the 1900 block of Dogwood Drive in Eugene on Nov. 20, 2025, at about 7 a.m. Goble was arrested the following day and lodged at the Lane County Jail.
Charges Narrowed Through Plea Deal
At the time of his arrest, Goble faced 10 counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse and 10 counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse, per the station's report. By the time the case reached a resolution nearly a year later, prosecutors had pared that down to the three first-degree counts he ultimately admitted to.
Lookout Eugene-Springfield reported that Goble retired from the University of Oregon on June 15, 2026, months after his arrest but before his case concluded. A deputy district attorney cited by the outlet said Goble's computer transferred roughly 3,800 files with a sheriff's office computer between September and around November 2025. In court, Goble told the judge it was not his intent to disseminate child sexual abuse material and said he deeply regretted his actions, according to the same account.
Part of a Larger Local Crackdown
The investigation into Goble was described as part of an ongoing effort by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to combat child exploitation. That framing lines up with broader numbers released by the Lane County Sheriff's Office: according to Right Now Oregon, the office concluded 2025 with 26 arrests tied to Internet Crimes Against Children investigations, with seven cases resulting in convictions and sentences by the time of that report.
Investigators examined at least 35 suspects during the year for offenses related to online child sexual abuse material, nine of whom were accused of hands-on offenses, Right Now Oregon reported. Detectives also served 62 search warrants and 43 court subpoenas in 2025, helped rescue five children from ongoing abuse, identified 14 new child victims, and provided eight technical assists to other agencies. Sheriff's officials said detectives were continuing to work 34 active cyber tips involving suspected child sexual abuse material, describing the Lane County ICAC Task Force as a collaborative effort involving local, state and federal partners.
How Other Local Cases Have Resolved
Other Lane County cases from the same period show a range of outcomes. Zachary Ryan Freeman, a 35-year-old Springfield man, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse and one count of first-degree invasion of personal privacy, Lookout Eugene-Springfield reported. Freeman avoided prison, but his plea agreement stipulated he would serve 46 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections if he later violates probation, and he must also register as a sex offender.
Right Now Oregon's year-end report listed seven people convicted in 2025 ICAC cases with sentences ranging widely: William Harold Berry received 112 months, Ralph Anthony Pocza received 86 months, Brett Ronald Steele received 45 months following a downward departure, James Watson Gilbert received 108 months, Ford D'Angelo Ke'Shawn and Noah Alan Starkey-Gomes each received 60 months, and Matthew Allen Drake received 600 months. Those cases involved different defendants and circumstances than Goble's, but they illustrate the spread of sentences local courts have handed down in similar prosecutions over the past year.
